{"id":96365,"date":"2026-08-13T14:10:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T18:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/?post_type=tribe_events&#038;p=96365"},"modified":"2026-08-14T07:27:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T11:27:02","slug":"neal-francis","status":"publish","type":"tribe_events","link":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/event\/neal-francis\/","title":{"rendered":"Neal Francis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>STANDING ROOM ONLY<\/p>\n<p>NEAL FRANCIS<br \/>\nNeal Francis\u2019 music is an intoxicating blend of funk, soul, and rock that evokes the glory days of the 60s and 70s but is undeniably fresh. His 2019 debut album, Changes, drew lavish applause, hailed as \u201cthe reincarnation of Allen Toussaint\u201d by BBC Radio 6 and lauded by KCRW and more. Francis\u2019s acclaimed 2nd LP, In Plain Sight, followed in 2021. Led by top 5 Americana radio favorite, \u201cCan\u2019t Stop The Rain,\u201d the album earned international praise from such publications as MOJO, who wrote, \u201cFrancis digs deep on guileless rock and soul with bold flourishes.\u201d Accolades followed, including a 2022 Americana Music Awards nomination and Libera Award nominations in 2022 and 2024. Francis has sold out shows globally, shared the stage with Wilco, The Meters, My Morning Jacket and Black Pumas, appeared at major festivals such as Bonnaroo, Fuji Rock, Newport Folk, Lollapalooza, and performed on national TV. Francis\u2019s live performance was captured in 2023\u2019s double live album &amp; concert film, Francis Comes Alive. The 3rd album from Neal Francis, Return To Zero, emerged from a kind of visionary fever dream. Equal parts heady and hedonistic, pensive and euphoric, the LP echoes his deep-rooted psych-rock sensibilities and lifelong love of classic funk. Amid a relentless touring schedule, Neal immersed himself in creating a beautiful, strange, all-analog entangling of timeless rock &amp; roll and \u201970s-era dance music, merging supremely heavy guitar riffs with lush, pulsating grooves.<\/p>\n<p>SAM FRIBUSH ORGAN TRIO<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>STANDING ROOM ONLY NEAL FRANCIS Neal Francis\u2019 music is an intoxicating blend of funk, soul, and rock that evokes the glory days of the 60s and 70s but is undeniably [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":96367,"template":"","meta":{"_tribe_events_status":"","_tribe_events_status_reason":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"tribe_events_cat":[],"class_list":["post-96365","tribe_events","type-tribe_events","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Neal Francis - The Laurel of Asheville<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/event\/neal-francis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Neal Francis - 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